Imaging through magnetic resonance (MR) techniques can be used to acquire images in medical, biological and other fields. MR imaging (MRI) techniques produce an image of an object under examination by manipulating magnetic spins in the object and processing measured responses from the magnetic spins. An MRI system may include hardware to generate different magnetic fields for imaging, including a static magnetic field along a z-direction to polarize a portion of the magnetic spins, magnetic field gradients (e.g., along mutually orthogonal x, y, or z directions), and RF magnetic fields to manipulate the spins. The RF pulses, applied transverse to the primary axis defined by the external field, are used to manipulate the magnetization of the sample. Transverse components of the magnetization of the sample can induce time-varying currents in the RF coils, and the induced currents can be used to construct an image of the sample.